I think(!) it has something to do with the receptors in the brain that connects when you smoke cannabis. I think they're called Cannabinoid receptors. When you smoke weed these receptors make connections in your brain and this in turn makes you view the world differently (You get high.)

Maybe people with autism have a lack of these or they can't make the connection.

TL;DR: autistic people can not get high.
This is just educated guesswork. I can see if I find the article.

As someone who has PDD-NOS, NLD and a plethora of other afflictions that can easily be summed up as the 'Other' category of autism, weed has most definitely gotten me high. I smoked quite a bit over the span of half a year to the point where I was pretty much high every day, 24/7 (And obviously quit after realizing I was turning into a junkie, which I wasn't going to abide. No, sir.)

What I get from reading the article number 5 on this little synopsis is that weed helps, albeit slightly, stimulate the already connection. And as far as I know, this is very much true. Recently, I've found myself being suddenly more empathetic and understanding of other people and just things in general, whereas I previously did not. Simply didn't know how to. And there's no way to really rationally bring up sympathy for another if it's not ingrained in your brain. I should know. I do it all the time, or at least try to logically handle something rather than handling out of feeling.

One of the larger discombobulations caused by autism, is the lack of affective empathy. i.e. Emotionally experiencing along with the person. Feeling sad because the other person is sad. Whereas we still have our cognitive empathy, (feeling sad because we're being TOLD the other person is sad in one way or another), affective is basically nonexistent.

To get back on track with my original intent, after my little debacle with weedsmoking; I've found myself overwhelmed with this sudden new emotion other than basic and cold neutrality that encompasses my empathy, concern and most importantly; feelings toward things and people and so forth.

So yes.
Although the circumstances are argueable, as is the severity of my autism, I would say weed most certainly can help with autism. However little. Because I certainly believe it's slowly helped my brain along, and wouldn't be surprised if this got confirmed.

You misunderstand, I wasn't trying to disprove the article itself Far from it, I agreed with it and used linking it to provide further explanation and to make known, other than personal experience, what exactly I was basing my arguments on. I was more trying to debunk Mountain's line of thought when coming to his conclusion.

It wasn't so much a point that we cannot get high, rather that we most likely cannot get as high, as you said. Though I assure you, the effect smoking marijuana will manifest in one way or another.

I wasn't trying to regard my word as law, this is of course still simple tests on mice and personal experience from just one man. My aim was to elaborate, not overrule.

I don't mean to sound like a prick, and you're more than welcome to believe as you will, I would be a bad man to tell you otherwise.

But what the article this is based off of says is that these pathways that simulate empathy and emotion are shut down in people with autism, and that the effect of marijuana has on these pathways is to re=open them, thus re-stimulating already dead pathways inside the brain.

In short, it helps people feel what they cannot feel otherwise, or feel as well.

I'm going off of my own observation, so you're definitely right. When I shadowed doctors at UTMB and several other minor hospitals around Galveston I found that people with autism cannot correlate information as much and relay what they've learned, not just their emotional but their social skills degrade rapidly. When those same patients would come in stoned they were quite a remarkably amount better at daily task, talking, feeling the emotions of others or of the room, and generally speaking much closer to normal than before. That being said, medical marijuana is still not an accepted treatment because of the old biased studies, but I do believe in my personal opinion that it can help.

Sadly you are absolutely right. If it does get legalized then that will go to show that the people who make those decisions actually morally care about other human beings suffering. Sadly again, as of now it seems they don't. :(

Thank you. What I lack in compassion, I try to make up for in rationality and objectivity. Just because I can't mostly feel along with other people doesn't mean I shouldn't try to understand them, or their viewpoints.

After working at UTMB and shadowing doctors that help people with autism a lot I've come to realize that people with autism are (generally speaking) rather intelligent compared to normal human beings, it's just they can't relay information as well and that makes people think them dumb.